Eva Castillo quits BofA Merrill's wealth division
Eva Castillo has resigned as head of Bank of America Merrill Lynch's Europe, Middle East and Africa wealth division, according to an internal memo seen by Financial News.
It is understood Castillo, recently named as one of Financial News' 100 most influential women in the Emea financial markets, resigned her position before Sallie Krawcheck's appointment as overall head of wealth at the US bank last month. Castillo will remain in the job until December to ensure a “smooth transition”, according to an internal memo to staff from Krawcheck this morning.
The bank plans to name her successor in the "near future".
Castillo's former patron Robert McCann appointed her to the position in December 2006 but left Merrill Lynch following its rescue by Bank of America just over a year ago. He is expected to become head of UBS' wealth management division in the US at the end of October.
However, Castillo's friends do not think she is short of supporters at Bank of America Merrill Lynch: "She just wanted another challenge. It's as simple as that," said one of them. Castillo serves on Bank of America's 15-person Emea management committee. Spanish telephone company Telefonica has also been demanding her time since 2008, when she agreed to become one of its directors.
A Bank of America Merrill Lynch spokeswoman was unable to comment further on Castillo’s move.
Prior to Merrill, Castillo had experience of corporate analysis at Spanish broker Beta Capital and later went on to work at the international equities division of Goldman Sachs. She became Merrill Lynch's country manager for Spain in 1999, going on to become local head of investment banking before McCann facilitated her entry into wealth management.
Castillo told Financial News in July 2007 that as soon as she was put in charge of Merrill's Emea wealth division she was determined to succeed: "I needed to re-energise the team. To raise our game another notch." She said she wanted to double, or treble, its size within three to five years, potentially with the help of deals as well as recruitment.
She also provided a clue to her willingness to take on fresh challenges: "I like working in areas that are subject to change because change often reveals opportunities. You need to take on challenges when they come up. I never say no to them."
Bank of America has forced a range of cost saving initiatives onto Merrill Lynch following its rescue. In September, the bank employed 14,980 financial advisers, against 15,822 in March.
--write to mfoster@efinancialnews.com
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